A Guardian's Secret
by monkeyqueen66
Summary: Star Kalian and Mel Stryder. Gryffindors. Orphans. Witches. Completely normal right? At least, thats what they thought, thats what hoped. But then, they found out about him. What did Voldemort want with two Hogwarts students? Well, thats the real mystery
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE - The Orphanage**

There were many things Mel didn't understand. She didn't know why her parents went away, she didn't know why people were so sad, and she didn't know why the man in the strange blue clothes was taking her away from home. She watched as a sad looking girl about her age lay flat on the ground, surrounded by laughing kids. The strange man, ushered her inside, and into an office with a scary lady with grey patches in her hair. She was swaying slightly from side to side, hiccupping, a suspicious bottle broken in the trash can.

"So this... hic... is Melanie?"

Yes, there were many things Mel didn't understand. But she did know that her life was never going to be the same.

There were a lot of things Star didn't understand. She didn't know why her parents decided they didn't want her anymore, and she didn't know why no one else did either. She didn't know why Steve would throw her to the ground, while all the boys danced around her.

She watched as the scared looking new girl entered the office, her arms wrapped tightly around a small teddy bear.

"CRY BABY! CRY BABY!"

Yes, there were many things Star didn't understand. But she did know that she would never let them see her cry again.

A year or two had passed since then, and Mel and Star were still there at the Kalian Home for Orphaned Children, or the Hell Hole according to Steve. Yes, Steve too was still there. And yes, he was still just as much a bully as ever, and Mel and Star were his favourite victims.

Mel Stryder was an ordinary girl. Well, close enough to it anyway. She had dark hair, not too long, but long enough, with a streak of white, just near her fringe. Matron had tried many a time to dye her hair all one colour, but it never worked. That white streak would reappear with a vengeance. She had brown eyes that were so dark; they almost appeared black; although in certain lights they would change to a vivid orangey brown colour. She was a little tall for her age, giving Steve yet another reason to tease her. At the current moment, his little minion Tom was whispering 'giraffe' to her out of the corner of his mouth.

Star Kalian always insisted that she would never be just like everybody else, but she too was normal enough. Mostly. She had as she liked to say 'kinda longish' blonde hair. Matron struggled with hers too, as it was coloured with slightly darker streaks of red, brown and blonde of different shades. She had light blue eyes, that changed shades in certain lights. At times, they even seemed to go a deep violet. She was of average height, though next to Mel she seemed incredibly short, giving Steve another reason to tease her. At the current moment, Tom was drawing a dwarf on his desk.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO – Best day of their lives**

Mel glanced at Star, the moment her head tipped slightly backwards, and her eyes turned that familiar violet.

She waited patiently, and then with a blink, Star was back.

"It's time"

A rush of excitement overcame her, as the two 11 year olds turned their heads to the door, waiting. Matron appeared.

"Star, Melanie, put your best clothes on, there's someone here to meet you," she said sweetly, obviously trying to make a good impression.

Wasting no time, the girls hurried to do as she asked and were ready within minutes. Matron inspected them briefly then led the way to her office.

Star and Melanie stared. Mel had seen this man through her friend's visions but it was an entirely different experience seeing him first hand. Star couldn't hold back her smile of delight.

"Girls this is Professor Dumbledore," Matron introduced, "Sir, these are Star Kalian and Melanie Stryder."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" he said happily. The two girls exchanged bright grins.

"The pleasure is ours, Professor" replied Mel.

Smiling, he turned to the Matron.

"If you will excuse us, Madam, I would wish to speak with these girls in private, to determine if they are proper candidates for our school." He said formally.

She nodded.

"Of course," she replied, heading for the door, "I'll be just outside."

When she left, he turned back to look at the girls.

"Well, you are both most likely wondering what all this is for," he began, "I will now explain it to you, in detail. As was said before, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Headmaster of a school for unique young men and women. People with gifts beyond the norm. People like you."

"What's the school called?" Star asked curiously.

"It is known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He answered.

"So it is witchcraft what we can do," Mel murmured. Star nudged her subtly with her elbow.

I don't think we should tell him anything just yet. She thought quickly. Mel glanced at her, nodding.

"Is there really a place for us at your school?" Star asked quickly.

He turned his gaze on her.

"Yes, my dear," he said, "Of course. That is why I am here."

"How did you find us?" Mel asked. Professor Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"We have our ways"

Star smirked.

"I'll bet you do." She murmured.

"When does school start?" Mel asked, "What about supplies?"

"Before I tell you that, there is something I must ask you," he said, gazing at them intently. "You are not surprised by my being here. How long have you known you were different?"

Star and Mel exchanged glances.

"Depends on what you mean by different" Star answered. Professor Dumbledore laughed

"Have you ever been able to do things?" he asked, "Or did things seem to happen around you, whenever you were angry or scared?"

Mel glanced at Star.

"The hair thing," she whispered.

Star nodded.

"Matron would keep trying to dye our hair one colour. It would never work," she said softly.

Professor Dumbledore smiled knowingly, before reaching into his pocket and drawing out two letters and handing them to the girls.

"These are your acceptance letters," he explained, "With them are lists of all the school supplies, you will need for the coming year."

"You know we have no money," Star pointed out.

"There are support funds available for such situations as these," he said calmly, handing them each a purse filled with coins, "You will have to buy some items second hand."

They both nodded.

"So it really is happening?" Mel whispered.

Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes, dear," he replied, "It is."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE – At the Train Station**

_Damn kids, they're useless...I wonder what's on TV. ... I miss my mother..._

_Mel opened her eyes with a start and sat up. Her head began to ache._

"_Why's everyone talking so loud?" she murmured through a yawn._

_Oh good, Melanie's awake, now I can try out the new dye... Matron murmured as she walked into the room. Mel frowned. Her lips didn't move._

_Man those guys are really weird...Oh man is this déjà vu? I'm freaking out!_

_Mel glanced up at her friend Star, who was staring at the room around her in shock. One of the girls had tripped in front of Matron sending the bowl of porridge she had snuck flying to the ground and smashing everywhere._

_I swear that's already happened! Mel thought she heard her say, though her lips were not moving._

_Mel started to feel panicky. She looked around the room. Everyone was speaking all at once, and getting louder…but their lips weren't moving!_

_Those girls are always so dramatic…they think they're so hot…_

"_Shut up, you people are giving me a headache!" she said desperately clutching her head._

_Star watched Mel. If she remembered right, at any second she was going to throw her hands up over her ears and shout something about a headache._

_Star felt her jaw dropped open. She jumped off the bed and shouted._

"_BUT ITS ALREADY HAPPENED!" she shouted._

_Mel's head snapped around to look at her._

"_What the hell are you talking about?" she asked._

"_You're in on it too, aren't you?" she asked angrily._

"_Star I'm not messing with your head okay, everyone seems to be messing with mine!"_

"_Don't try to get out of this Mel!" she snapped. "SOMETHING IS GOING ON HERE AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT!"_

"_WELL YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE STAR!" Mel yelled back._

"_AND YOU," She yelled, whirling around and pointing her finger at Tommy, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT BUDDY!"_

"_Stop this fuss right now!" Matron yelled, coming into the room._

"_EVERYONE STOP YELLING!" Mel screamed, covering her ears._

"_STOP REPEATING YOURSELF!" Star yelled back._

"_ONE,"_

_Everyone in the room froze turning to the Matron eyes, widening in fear._

"_TWO," she said she turned to the two girls, eyes flashing "Do I have to count to three?"_

_They both shook their heads._

_She nodded with satisfaction._

"_Melanie, Star, come with me." She said sternly._

_They followed her in silence, secretly terrified. No one was willing to find out what would happen if Matron ever made it to 'Three'._

_Matron led them to the time out room. As she closed the door, Melanie heard something worrying._

_Now I can finally bring in that doctor…_

_Mel forgot her anger at Star immediately._

"_She's going to bring in a doctor!" she cried. Star merely nodded, her eyes turning a stunning violet for a moment, before her eyes refocused on Mel._

"_She's trying to get us locked up!"_

_Mel blinked._

"_Your eyes changed colour for a minute there."_

_Star stared at Mel._

"_Really?" she asked, as the thoughts whirled in her mind. Mel blinked._

"_You think... you think we're special... Don't you?" asked Mel. Star nodded. And they stared at each other._

"_What am I thinking?" asked Star. Mel blinked in confusion, but nevertheless concentrated on Star._

_I love my streaks and Matron's ugly!_

_Mel snorted in laughter._

"_You said, you love your streaks and Matron's ugly; no surprises there," she said through her laughter._

"_I didn't say anything, Mel," Star said seriously, though she was smiling, "You heard what I was thinking."_

_Mel frowned a little._

"_That can't be normal." She murmured._

_Star shrugged._

"_Just don't tell them about it," she said simply._

"_What happens when your eyes go violet?" Mel asked curiously._

_Star thought for a moment._

"_I think... I think I'm seeing things; before they happen."_

_Mel shook her head._

"_Spooky,"_

Star shook herself awake, and glanced around her.

"We're here?" she asked. Mel nodded at her, and Star jumped up in excitement.

"I wonder where the platform is?" asked Mel in hesitation.

Star glanced around her in confusion.

"Can you find it?"

Mel looked around, catching sight of a huge family of redheads.

I wish I could go…I hope I don't screw up going through the barrier, Fred and George won't let me live…let's pull the old trick on Mum…Another Prefect in the family!...I want to go to Hogwarts!

"Let's follow those guys," she said confidently.

Star nodded, following her friend, still glancing around her, suddenly it was as though she was in one of her visions.

_She looked around her, a cheeky grin on her face. Suddenly she broke out running, straight for the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Suddenly, she was on a hidden platform, a steaming red train waiting impatiently, seemingly beckonging to her._

_"I DID IT!" she cried to herself laughing._

Star's eyes flashed back to her blue colour, and she grinned at Mel.

"Let's go"

Mel stared at her friend's cheeky grin. She smiled back wickedly.

They looked at each other and as one, ran at the wall, with Star in the lead. They ignored the red headed twins shouts of outrage at being cut off, as they pushed through the barrier, still laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR – The Surprisingly Abnormal**

"BINDY!" they cried together.

The cat raced down the tiny corridor, weaving through people's legs while Mel was forced to shove them bodily out of the way.

"Bindy!" she yelled again.

"Why'd you have to get a cat?" Star asked frustratedly, struggling to keep up. Mel ignored her as the cat ran straight into someone's compartment.

Desperately, she forced her way through the compartment and fell onto the seat, grabbing hold of her cat.

"Bindy, don't do that again!" she said, exasperated. She looked up and saw that the compartment was not alone and contained two boys about her age; one with flaming red hair, the other with messy dark hair.

"Hi," she said kindly, "Sorry about running in, the whistle scared the wits out of Bindy,"

"That's okay," the red head said quickly, just as Star appeared at the door.

"Good you've got him then," she muttered, walking in and taking a seat next to her friend.

"Hi, I'm Star Kalian," she said casually.

"I'm Ron Weasley." Said the red head.

"I'm Harry," said the dark haired boy, "Harry Potter."

"Pleasure to meet you." Star said dismissively, getting comfortable.

"I'm Melanie Stryder and this is Bindy," she said, holding her black and white cat up.

"Don't you... don't you know who he is?" asked Ron.

Star exchanged glances with Mel.

"Should I?" Mel stared at the boys for a moment.

How can they not know who Harry Potter is?

"Harry Potter who is responsible for the downfall of You-Know-Who, some evil dark wizard." Mel said casually.

Star looked Harry.

"You killed some old guy?" she asked, "What was his name?"

"I don't know, all I heard was You-Know-Who," Mel said irritably, "How are we supposed to know who You-Know-Who is?"

Star rolled her eyes, and decided to try something. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

'Show me!" she mumbled to herself. She opened her eyes, and for a moment nothing happened. Suddenly, her head was thrown back, as her eyes changed to a vivid purple colour.

_"Lily, take Harry and run!"_

_"No James!"_

_"I'll fight him off, just go!"_

_Star shuddered as she stared at the tall man, with the snakelike eyes._

_"No! Not Harry! Please not Harry!"_

Her eyes suddenly changed back to their normal blue, leaving Star panting on the seat.

"Woah" she murmured. "Voldemort" she answered. "His name is Voldemort"

Ron stared at her.

"What just happened?" he asked.

Mel ignored him, staring at her friend. Star looked back at her, remembering that everything she saw in her mind, flashed through Mel's. They looked back at Harry.

"I'm sorry," Mel murmured respectfully.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"What happened?" Ron repeated.

"I looked into his past," Star said simply, "I learned who Voldemort was…I think."

"What do you mean, you looked into my past?" asked Harry in shock. Star shrugged.

"I can see things, just like Mel can hear what people think. What can you do?"

Ron stared at her, shaking her head.

"You're kidding right?" he asked, "That stuff's impossible without a wand, or something. I hate to break this to you, but... most witches and wizards... can't do things like that"

Melanie and Star stared at the two of them as this new knowledge registered in their minds.

"We're not…normal?"

Harry shrugged.

"I grew up with muggles, so I don't know what normal with magic is"

Star and Mel exchanged glances.

"AWESOME!" shrieked Star. Mel laughed while Ron and Harry glanced at each other, nervous smiles on their faces.

"So, can you really see things?" Harry asked, gazing at Star.

"You want proof?" Star asked, "A girl with bushy, blonde brown hair named Hermione is going to come here, asking about a toad in ten seconds."

Harry quickly checked his watch. They looked at the door.

"3…2…1…"

"Excuse me?"

A girl stood at the door, already dressed in her uniform, with bushy blonde-brown hair.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked, "A boy named Neville's lost one."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE – Hermione, Secrets, and a sorting**

The boys stared in shock so Mel quickly answered.

"No, sorry, no toads present,"

The girl sighed with frustration and Star's eyes flashed violet again.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing together, looking a little older, and laughing...best friends...

She blinked the vision away. She glanced at Mel.

These kids are gonna be the best of friends and are really gonna need each other she thought quickly. But it all starts from this moment. Don't let her leave!

Mel nodded slightly and smiled at the new girl.

"Hi, I'm Melanie Stryder," she said kindly, "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Hermione Granger," she replied.

"These are our friends," Mel said, gesturing at everyone.

"Star Kalian,"

"Ron Weasley,"

"Harry Potter,"

Hermione started and walked right in to the compartment, sitting down across from them and staring.

"Holy cricket, it is Harry Potter!" she cried excitedly, "It's an honour; truly, I've read all about you!"

"There're books about me?" he asked, looking stunned.

"Of course, you're noted in at least three separate history books to date."

Mel frowned thoughtfully.

"Greatest Dark Wizards of the 20th century?" she asked, "I don't think that one's on the syllabus."

Hermione glanced at her in surprise.

_I don't remember mentioning the title..._

"Well it's not, but I thought it would be a good idea to do some extra reading, in preparation. I've already memorised our school books just in case, I only hope I've done enough!"

"Hermione, any more prepared and you'd be able to teach us better than the teachers," Star muttered, causing Ron to smirk.

Hermione blushed.

"So, what house do you think you'll get into?" she asked a little nervously.

"What?" Mel asked.

"Um, everyone gets divided into houses, there are four of them, I've been asking around and by far the best house seems to be Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad,"

"We'll be in Gryffindor," Star said confidently.

Hermione blinked in surprise.

_These girls are a little weird...it's almost as if...but that's impossible..._

"Don't say that it's impossible!" Mel said quickly, "You were so close to figuring it out; you were on the right path!"

Her eyes now widened in shock.

"No way"

Finally, the train puffed and sputtered it's way to a complete stop and all the students eagerly hopped off.

"FIRST YEARS!"

Mel and Star turned toward the sound of a gruff male voice shouting at them and they stared. Down one end of the station stood the hugest human being they had ever seen in their lives. It didn't seem possible one person could be so large.

Star whistled.

"That's a big boy," she muttered, causing Mel to chuckle. Together they joined the other students their age who were jostling each other for positions in the line, and constantly whispering of rumours about THE Harry Potter.

"Do you think they'll be disappointed when they meet him?" Mel whispered.

Star shrugged as they clambered into the little boats.

"That depends on what they're expecting."

Mel glanced around.

He looks so normal…I wonder if I can catch a glimpse of that scar…I bet he'll be my friend…

She and Star looked at each other as the boats lurched forward, being propelled of their own accord. Distracted by this fascinating display of magic, they forgot about the kids surrounding them and enjoyed this last leg of their journey.

The boats came around a bend and both girls let out a gasp. Before them was the most beautiful and magnificent castle they'd ever seen. It was as if someone had taken idea from every kid's daydreams and made it reality, it was that spectacular. Eventually the boats stopped and everyone climbed out, chattering excitedly about all they had seen to that point.

They were met by a teacher who, after a moment of waiting, led them into the Great Hall where it seemed as though the wondrous surprises were never going to stop. While they gazed at the candles suspended in mid-air, they were led to the front of the Hall, where they saw a stool with a simple, and rather battered looking hat sitting peacefully atop.

"When I call your name, you will come forth, I will place the Hat on your heads and you will be sorted into your houses." Professor McGonagall said, holding, the Hat aloft.

"Star Kalian,"

Ignoring the stares and whispers which had started upon their arrival, Star pushed through the crowd and took her seat on the stool. The Hat softly dropped onto her head.

Mmmmm…very interesting. Where shall I put you? Whispered a soft voice as though it were speaking directly into her mind.

You know I know already she thought.

Don't discount the whys, little girl, just because the hows are so easy to see the voice admonished, I see you have strength, bravery and cunning…and yet there is loyalty in all it's defiance…and love. Defiance is what kept you going…understand it is love that keeps you true… A guardian of this nature can only go one place…

"GRYFFINDOR," The Hat shouted.

Mel cheered the loudest as her friend joined the other new Gryffindors' at the table.

Professor McGonagall returned to her list.

"Melanie Stryder,"

Eagerly, Mel weaved her way through, jumping onto the seat and nearly losing her balance in typical Melanie fashion.

You're giving off a great first impression, Star thought with a smirk. Mel chose to ignore her, as the Hat was then lowered onto her head.

Right…now that's very intriguing…Mel was not alarmed by the little voice. She'd heard it from the beginning, heard everyone's traits and qualities and seen where they were suited to go.

What do you see for me? She thought curiously.

I only see what is IN you. And there is much to see. There's talent and bravery… There is strength and obstinacy… yet patience and understanding. It is given to you to see below the surface of the matter. You see the whys, and ignore the hows. You are the balance to your friend. A guardian to join the first…

"GRYFFINDOR,"

Star and Mel sat beside each other at their new table, a strange feeling coursing through them at the name they had been called. _Guardians_.

They glanced up at the Head table, catching the eyes of the Headmaster. Professor Dumbledore smiled at them knowingly, as if he knew what the Hat had said. His blue eyes sparkled as he turned away.

_Guardians_


End file.
